April 18, 1P03. 
the gardening world 
343 
Scolopendrium vulgare: its Varieties and 
Culture. 
(Continued from page 145.) 
The marvellous fertility of the HartVtongue in the matter 
of varieties, was pretty clearly shown in the last article, which, 
however, dealt only with the crispum section. On the present 
occasion it will be my purpose to indicate some of the more 
striking abnormalities in the other sections into which it has 
been found necessary, for the sake of system, to divide this 
prolific species. As with Rolls, Carnations, Dahlias, etc., so 
it must be with Ferns; that is, where the varieties run into 
hundreds, some categorical arrangement seems to be a sine 
qua non. Even Sweet Peas are now so numerous that a classi¬ 
fication has been attempted. However, as only a few of the 
leading varieties can be touched upon here, and those only 
which are capable of serving a useful part in the garden or 
cool conservatory, we can well dispense with technicalities, and 
proceed on the lines of Mr. Druery’s “ Choice British Ferns” ; 
only we must be even more eclectic in the selection of material. 
with great discretion and the slaughter of the “ innocents ” 
rigidly enforced. 
In the cristatum section, we have some first-class subjects, 
such as Corymbiferum, a fine, heavily-crested form. This has 
been duplicated by Mr. Druery at Sidford, and takes the char¬ 
acter of a normal frond, with an apex much divided, the crest 
being round, or conglomerate, and resembling a ball of moss. 
Flabellatum has a fiat, fan-shaped crest, and is much cut. 
Cristagalli lias a finely-divided and symmetrical crest, is very 
distinct, and has been found wild in two or three places. Mr. 
W. IT. Phillips, of Belfast, is one. of the finders; in fact, this 
gentleman has to' his credit an enormous number of good 
things. Mr. Lloyd Praeger, of the National Library of Ireland, 
Dublin, also records a large number, while Mr. George Whit- 
well, of Kendal, has a garden full of good wild “ sports.” 
Cristulatum, on the other hand, was raised by Messrs. Stans- 
field, Sale Nurseries, near Manchester, who have accomplished 
much for British Ferns. This variety is a. dense mass of 
globular cresting. Blit, probably, the finest of them all is 
Grandieep's, which is as broad in, the crest as it is long in the 
As to the nomenclature of Ferns there is much 
difference of opinion. Personally, I prefer de¬ 
scriptive names—they are more scientific, satis¬ 
factory and definite. They give one at least an 
idea as to the nature of the departure from the 
normal form; whereas in fanciful names of 
somebody or something a reference to a catar 
logue is absolutely necessary. Moreover, these 
Latin, or Latinised, names are easy to remember, 
and therefore no difficulty is experienced by 
anyone who has the slightest acquaintance with 
the subject. 
In the ramose section, which may be taken 
first., the alteration in the appearance of the 
plant is not always very profound; still, there 
are some very distinct things. S. v. raurosum 
itself is suggestive of this section, the stipes 
dividing or branching in a simple or multiple 
manner. This variety has been known for many 
veal's, and in addition to this branching habit, 
it is also crested. This cresting, however, is 
poor compared to cue called ramo-cristatum, in 
which the crests arc dense and heavy. Moly’s, 
wild find goes even further in the matter of 
symmetry and tasselling; in fact, it is a unique 
instance of a sudden transformation from a 
simple to a. complex form. Ramo-marginatum 
is another variety in which the branching is very 
( profuse, and the divisions, consequently, small and margined. 
In these narrow and contracted forms, the ordinary centipede- 
like arrangement of the spore-heaps is interfered with; thus 
these are broken up and the patches of fructification appear 
on the margin and even on the upper surface of the fronds. 
From this variety I have succeeded in raising another -which 
. has been named S. v. ramulosissiminn, on account of its ex¬ 
cessive tendency to. split itself up into linear segments. The 
accompanying illustration evidences this and saves further 
explanation. It is introduced here to show the ramification 
which prevails in this section. 
Delesseriottdes is built up on similar lines, and is so named 
on account of its resemblance to a seaweed—Delesseria sinuosa.. 
Acrocladon—sarnimit-brancl i ed—is well worthy of a place in 
any collection. It was one of the late Mi - . Lowe’s finds in the 
Lake district. It is normal up to the apex, which spreads 
out into a large finger-like, multifid head. Unguiceps is a 
narrow variety with a claw-like crest. When well grown it is 
remarkably distinct. Capita;turn, a,s its name implies, pos¬ 
sesses a large head, and there is a good deal in it, too, from a 
decorative point of view. Here, again, success has come to 
patient waiting, for spores, like seeds, are sure to gave a. per¬ 
centage of good things to those who wait and watch. The 
c-ispositicn. of a Job, however, is necessary in Fern breeding, 
t ie process being slow, while selection has to be canned out 
Scolopendrium vulgare ramulosissimum. 
frond, viz., about 10 in. And this superb variety was found 
wild by Mr. John Cousins ! Truly, the haunts of our native 
Ferns are not only happy hunting grounds, but they appear 
to afford a greater number of distinct varieties than all our 
other British plants put together. 
The forms in the other sections of the HartVtongue are em¬ 
braced under the terms conglomeratum, sagittatum, trunca- 
tum, flexuosum, lineare, municatum, smpralineakmS margina¬ 
tum, crenatum, and variegatum ; all of which have some 
among them which would not disgrace the best-kept fernery. 
However, apart from lacera.tum, a. finely-lacerated and crested 
form, peraferens, which develops, a leiafy pouch; and tri-pera- 
ferens, which develops three ; and muricatum, with a rough, 
frill-like surface, I darei not proceed further in the matter of 
varieties, lest I should be accused of quoting monstrosities 1 ; 
but where the monstrosity begins and the variety ends largely 
depends upon, individual taste. Aesthetically, perhaps, the 
common HartVtongue, like the single Sunflower, would be 
preferred; but, horticulfurally, “ variety is charming,” and cer¬ 
tainly when you come to contrast the best, the most refined, 
the symmetrical foams, with cither foliage plants commonly 
used for decorative, purposes, I think that in most cases the 
equality is marked, and that in some others the excellence 
is so 1 great as to reach the superlative 1 degree. 
Even new (February) these Ferns are beginning to respond 
